Graduation Checklist

This page was last updated 9/23/2025 by Kate Salesin.

Here is an overview of what needs to be done in order to graduate from the Master's program. This information is summarized from the ORC, the Guarini school website, and information from Susan Perry Cable, Julia Ganson, and Christian Potter.

Also see our Outcomes & Rubrics for what constitutes a successful thesis and defense.

Deadlines

These are the final signed thesis and paperwork submission deadlines for the 2025-2026 academic year:

Summer 2025: August 15, 2025

Fall 2025: October 1, 2025

Winter 2026: February 1, 2026

Spring 2026: May 15, 2026

You will want to work backwards from this deadline when scheduling your thesis defense. Assuming you pass, you will still need to incorporate any thesis revisions requested by your committee and collect their signatures before submitting the final thesis, which will likely take at least a week, maybe more.

Q: What happens if I miss the deadline?

If you do not submit your final signed thesis by the deadline, your graduation will be moved to the next quarter, which means that the graduation date on your diploma will be the graduation date for the next quarter. For example, if you miss the Oct 1st deadline to graduate in the fall quarter, then (assuming you are able to submit everything by the next Feb 1st deadline), the graduation date on your diploma will be the end of the winter quarter. There is only one graduation ceremony in June for all of the summer, fall, winter, and spring graduates. If you miss the deadline but have met all other requirements besides the thesis submission, you will not need to physically be present or enroll in courses for the next quarter.

If you are an international student, you will need to check with OVIS about what this would mean for your visa or immigration status. If you are on a scholarship, you will need to check with the MSDA Director about its status for the next quarter.

Forming your thesis committee

  1. The student is responsible for choosing their thesis committee. You can ask people to be on your committee as early as you like, even several quarters before you graduate. At the latest, you should be forming your thesis committee as you begin your final quarter before graduation.

  2. These are the requirements for the MSDA thesis committee from the ORC:

    The committee shall be formed for the purpose of guiding the student's research. The chair of this committee, who is the student's primary research advisor, must be a tenure-track or research-track faculty member in the Computer Science department. In addition to the chair, the committee must include at least one other tenure-track or research-track Computer Science faculty member. The committee must comprise at least three members, one of whom may be from outside the Computer Science department or outside Dartmouth, though an outside member is not required. This committee must be approved by the MSDA Program Director and by the Dean of Graduate Studies.

  3. In summary, your committee is formed of 2 Dartmouth Computer Science faculty members and 1 other person who may be another faculty member or not. If you are unsure, you can ask your primary research advisor for guidance on whom to choose.

Once your thesis committee is set

  1. Fill out the Master's Examination Committee Approval Request and get it signed by your research advisor and MSDA director Lorie Loeb (you do not need to collect the final Guarini signature; they will sign after you submit it).

  2. Email the signed form to Susan Perry Cable and Amy Gallagher.

Writing your thesis

  1. You can begin writing your thesis as early as you like, even several quarters before you graduate. At the latest, you should start writing your thesis as you begin your final quarter before graduation.

  2. Follow the Guarini school's thesis guidelines for the formatting of your thesis.

  3. A LaTeX template with the correct formatting is available here. Make sure to update the title page info in the main .tex file to have the correct date, degree (Master of Science), and field (Computer Science).

TODO as you begin your final quarter before graduation

  1. Email department admin Susan Perry Cable and Guarini school admin Amy Gallagher to notify them of your intent to graduate that quarter.

  2. Email your unofficial transcript from Banner to MSDA director Lorie Loeb (and cc Susan Perry Cable) to confirm that you have met the coursework requirements given by the ORC.

  3. For students on an F-1 visa, reach out to your OVIS advisor to confirm to them that this is your last quarter of enrollment. This helps ensure your I-20 program end date is appropriately adjusted, if needed, and helps establish the timeline and eligibility to apply for OPT. Your I-20 program end date should reflect the official last day of your final quarter of enrollment. F-1 students are eligible to apply for OPT up to 90 days before their I-20 program end date.

TODO three weeks (or earlier) before your defense

  1. The student is responsible for scheduling their thesis defense. Send a poll to your committee to find a date and time that will work for all. It is preferable for the committee to attend in person, but it may need to be a hybrid event if some cannot.

  2. Once you have worked out a date and time, book a room using Dartmouth's Event and Room Scheduling system.

TODO one week (or earlier) before your defense

  1. Send your thesis to your committee so they have time to read it before the defense. This should not be a rough draft, but a complete, polished draft. They will likely respond with comments for revision that you will be expected to incorporate.

  2. Email Susan Perry Cable with the date, time, place, title, abstract, committee, and Zoom link (if applicable) so she can announce the defense to the department.

  3. Practice your defense! Present your defense in front of at least one peer from the program who is familiar with your work, can provide useful feedback, and ask tough questions (like your committee will).

TODO by the final submission deadline

  1. Revise your thesis as requested by your committee.

  2. Once your thesis is in its final state, you must collect the signatures of your committee on the title page (you do not need to collect Dean Jon Kull's signature; he will sign after you submit it). Details on the signatures from the Guarini website:

    All signatures must be on one title page. Electronic signatures are allowed. Ideally, the electronic signatures should be high-resolution versions of an actual signature. In cases where a committee member does not have a digital copy of their actual signature and is unable to sign in person, they may provide you with an alternative form such as an Adobe signature or typewritten signature. All signatures will be verified by your program. Dean Jon Kull will sign after work is submitted to the Guarini School.

  3. For the official "submission," email your final thesis PDF, with the title page signed by your whole committee, to Amy Gallagher by the deadline.

  4. Upload your final thesis PDF to the Dartmouth Digital Commons (this version should not include the committee's signatures).

  5. Complete all of the Guarini exit forms and email them to Amy Gallagher.

TODO before you leave campus

  1. Update your mailing address with the College and others who send frequent mail so that your mail will be automatically redirected prior to your departure.

  2. Clear out your mailbox.

  3. Return any keys or equipment that belongs to the department/the College.